Christmas lunch brings cheer to Brisbane’s homeless

One of Brisbane’s leading homeless services, Roma House, warmed up winter this week by hosting a special Christmas in July community lunch.

Around 80 guests, including residents, staff, other local community service workers, the State Member for Brisbane Central, Grace Grace MP, and Brisbane City Councillor for Central, David Hinchliffe, gathered together on Tuesday to enjoy festive food and great company.

A traditional Christmas lunch - complete with turkey, ham, roast vegetables with gravy and topped off by pudding and custard and trifle - was served by Mission Australia staff and volunteers from Brisbane’s corporate and donor community.

Even Santa made an off-season appearance, handing out beautiful handmade scarves, beanies, quilts and blankets, kindly donated by Knitting for Brisbane’s Needy, to residents. Some even took the opportunity to have a photo snapped with the big man.

Guests were entertained by musical performances by staff and residents. They also heard a residents’ presentation about Roma House’s therapeutic kitchen program, The House of Plenty, which an intentional therapeutic that connects and empowers residents through cooking and sharing meals.

Christmas in July lunch guests also enjoyed a video about the innovative Adventure Based Therapy program that also operates out of the Spring Hill site – you can learn more about it and link to the video from this page.

“This is the third consecutive year we’ve held a Christmas in July lunch,” said Operations Manager Avryl Gration. “It provides the residents with something to look forward to, and nice memories to call on during the cold winter months – and it provides our residents with a real feeling of home and belonging.”

Channel 10 News in Brisbane also made it along to Christmas in July at Roma House. You can watch their coverage of this inspirational event here.

Our latest Wild Earth Adventurers return!

Anyone who has “gone bush” for a few days knows how escaping a city or town can rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. But for someone who has spent years living on the streets of a city, spending a few days in a natural environment can be amazingly therapeutic.

This philosophy is at the centre of Wild Earth Adventures. Based at Mission Australia’s Roma House in Brisbane, the program aims to help people who have been homeless to set life goals, build self-esteem and reconnect with nature.

Social Worker Amanda Smith and Sue Cramb, Clinical Nurse and Adventure Based Learning Facilitator, have just returned from a three-day Wild Earth Adventures program in Queensland’s Coloola National Park with participants from Roma House.

As part of the ‘Experiments with Self Identity, Group and Nature’ adventure, the group paddled into the National Park and camped in a remote setting for three days.

One of the participants, Debbie* – a former Roma House resident who is still receiving support from the service – had already been on nine adventure-based learning programs. These programs complement the creative and professional case management support available to residents of Roma House and its outreach clients.

Having spent much of her life experiencing grief and depression, Debbie said the program allowed her to “leave this crazy city and things become clearer. I always feel better when I get back from a camp”.

Emily*, a Torres Strait Islander participant, was thrilled to be given the opportunity to reconnect with nature after many years of living in the city.

On completing the program’s 13km uphill trek, Emily realised she had the potential to change her situation: “Completing this hike, something I didn’t think that I could, makes me realise that I can also get out of homelessness and go further than I thought I could”.

Amanda said that while the three-day program was at times gruelling, the participants were up for the challenge:

“Like all of our Wild Earth Adventurers, they were well prepared to ensure their emotional, mental and physical needs were met. All had to attend several preparatory meetings beforehand so they could set goals for the experience and be well informed about the plan and expectations,” Amanda said.

“Adventure therapy relies on creating a small group that have clear goals, describing a mutually agreed to working agreement, being drug and alcohol-free and eager to physically and mentally challenge ourselves,” she added.

“There is certainly a strong culture being created by regular participants and this program allows for unique opportunities to people to be able to talk through issues with qualified professionals.”

Wild Earth Adventures have been held approximately every two weeks since the program began in 2009.

To learn more about Roma House’s adventure-based learning programs, we have released a new video today - view below or visit our Channel at youtube.com/missionaust:



For more information or to donate to this project please contact Amanda Smith on SmithAma@missionaustralia.com.au or call (07) 3839 1826.

*Names have been changed.

Locking out the homeless to pay for roads, bridges

Oh for $20 million dollars to do some advertising to help the homeless.

It certainly worked for the mining industry.

You can guarantee there'll be no TV ads in outrage that the federal government has decided to strip nearly a third of the money from one of their own landmark homeless policies – the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) – in response to the Queensland floods.

We have a huge problem with homelessness and affordable housing in Australia, and we'll never meet the self-imposed targets for reducing it if we keep raiding the kitty.

More than 105,000 Australians are homeless. Melbourne and Sydney are now considered to be two of the most unaffordable cities for housing in the world and we have less affordable housing than any other developed country.

To their credit, the Rudd government and the former minister for housing Tanya Plibersek not only put the issue of homelessness back on the map, they cemented it at the centre of government policy.

They decided that a major part of the way forward was to 'turn off the tap' – to stop people becoming homeless in the first place.

The National Rental Affordability Scheme was a key element in turning off the tap.

The scheme boosts the supply of affordable rental housing by providing a financial incentive to community and private investors if they charge 20 per cent or more below market rental rate.

The fewer homes built as part of the scheme, the more individuals and families at risk of homelessness.

The community services sector was happy with the policy, and more importantly, it is working.

Take Mary for example, who came to Mission Australia after being evicted from her home when she was unable to meet the cost of her rising rent. She and her five children at times sought shelter under a bridge in Western Sydney.

We helped her into temporary housing, provided her with support to deal with a range of personal issues, and worked with her to find a permanent home – which as it turns out was partially funded through NRAS.

Or consider another client, Anna, who had been suffering the effects of a mental illness on-and-off for most of her adult life.

Anna had stayed for short periods in boarding houses, other times on the street and had been turned away by a string of other organisations before she came to us.

But as she explained, all she really needed was someone to help her maintain a stable tenancy.

Thankfully, through NRAS – along with some Mission Australia funding – Anna has done just that.

For the last 12 months she has been in the same safe and stable home. It's the longest she's been in one place for years.

However, then came Queensland's great deluge and the federal government's subsequent plans for rebuilding.

In addition to its flood levy the government announced a number of cuts to help fund recovery efforts – including to the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

The scheme has been earmarked for slashing by nearly a third – from 50,000 homes to 35,000 – to save $264 million over the forward estimates.

The floods across the country have caused immense human tragedy and the nation stood up to help those in need.

Clients at Mission Australia's Brisbane homeless service, Roma House, volunteered to sandbag properties and help with the clean up of inundated homes.

From the first to the last we fully support the need to rebuild and the need to make sacrifices and savings to pay for those efforts.

But is it fair to penalise the weakest in our society by cutting back a key plank in the nation's fight against homelessness?

What rationale could there possibly be to justify taking a roof away from the likes of Mary or Anna to rebuild roads?

An easy target perhaps, but frankly it's unacceptable.

Our most vulnerable don't have $20 million to run a campaign to get this decision overturned. More likely, they'll cop it and sit silently resigned to the fact under our bridges and in our parks.

The government needs to rethink this measure – and if not, the Parliament must correct their error – and put homeless policy back on track.

The men and women of Roma House were willing to pitch in and help their fellow flood-affected Queenslanders.

The question is will their countrymen and women – and our political representatives – help them in their time of need?

This opinion piece appeared in The National Times

Roma House residents take on Adventure Based Learning

Roma House is widely considered to be a unique and therapeutic community service that endeavours to provide a range of intervention options to its residents.

The new “Wild Earth Adventure” project was implemented as an additional intervention / program option at Roma House and runs complementary to residents’ ongoing case work plans.

Roma House has conducted eight adventure programs over six months ranging from co-ed day trips (e.g. rope challenge courses) to multi-day journey based programs (e.g. canoe/camping adventures along the Noosa River).

The programs are designed to challenge residents’ physical, emotional, and mental capabilities, and comfort zones that can be processed during individual and group debriefing.

Amanda Smith, Roma House’s adventure based program worker, holds great stock in the potential that adventure therapy can offer participants.

Amanda’s unassuming approach recognises that people with transient lifestyles may have had few opportunities to experience the ‘wilderness’ and the activities it offers. She believes access to which is a human right, and is consistently amazed by participants’ capability and determination.

The programs are drug and alcohol free and physically and mentally strenuous. Accommodation isn’t luxurious and the itineraries are hectic.  They are completely voluntary and participation is determined in consultation with a case worker and resident nurse to ensure safety for all residents.

"Getting the Wild Earth Adventure Project off the ground has definitely been challenging, yet the rewards far outweigh the challenges.

"We have had fantastic feedback from the residents, and over 40% of participants have come on more than one adventure" Amanda said.

Amanda is now consulting with residents and staff to create the most dynamic, adventurous, and unforgettable eight-month calendar to support participants continuation of their self-identified journeys.  One idea that has ignited interest from residents is a four day sea kayaking / camping trip to Fraser Island during whale watching season.

If you are interested in donating any gear (eg: boots, camp clothing etc) or making financial contributions to the program please email Amanda at: SmithAma@missionaustralia.com.au or phone: 07 3839 1826

To read the full story visit this link:  www.qshelter.asn.au/journals/the-quarterly-march-2010.

This is an excerpt from page 8 of the March edition of The Quarterly - the publication of Queensland Shelter.

Is there a doctor in the house?

Homeless residents of Mission Australia’s Roma House in Brisbane are benefiting from free legal health checks thanks to law firm Freehills and the Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House Incorporated (QPILCH).

More than 20 Freehills lawyers have volunteered to administer the legal check, which screens the residents for debt, housing, crime and family legal issues.

Research has shown that disadvantaged clients are not often aware of their legal issues, nor do they seek legal assistance.

"The new clinic at Roma House provides the opportunity for lawyers to actively engage with the clients," Freehills solicitor and Homeless Persons' Legal Clinic team leader Sam Brown said.

"The legal health check has enabled the clients to address the issues and be free of the court system," she said. "It enables them to get on with their lives and focus on what their future may be once they are no longer homeless," said Roma House manager Rachel Watson.

The legal health check project is funded by Roma House and Streetsmart, a fundraising initiative whereby restaurant patrons can financially support homeless services by adding a small amount to their restaurant bill. Details of participating restaurants can be found at www.streetsmartaustralia.org/findrestaurant.

• Mission Australia's Community Services in Queensland
• Roma House - for further reading click here

Queensland Reds join Mission Australia clients in friendly touch football match

Blair Connor conceeding
a try by a Reconnect client

Mission Australia’s Roma House, one of Brisbane's leading homeless services, opened its doors this week to host players from the Queensland Reds rugby union team for a day of fun, music and football.

Roma House, which provides 24-hour, intensive care, support and accommodation for people who are chronically homeless, welcomed ten Queensland Reds players including Mark McLinden and Ben Lucas, who played touch football with the clients and provided them with coaching and fitness tips.

Roma House Manager, Rachel Watson, said the clients were extremely excited about playing with some of Queensland’s top sportsmen.

“We regularly organise touch football games down at the Roma St Parklands for our clients, and the guys really enjoyed having a game with the Queensland Reds,” said Rachel.

“We also organised for a special lunch, including entertainment, for after the game - so it was a fantastic day!”

Mission Australia teamed up with Community Queensland and Reclink – a charitable organisation that facilitates sporting, social and arts activities to enhance the lives of disadvantaged people – to organise the event. Reclink’s street orchestra project ‘The Reclaimers’ provided entertainment at the lunch.

The attendance by the Queensland Reds was facilitated by the Rugby Union Players’Association (RUPA) Foundation which announced a joint initiative with Mission Australia via the organisation’s ambassador program earlier this year.

Mission Australia State Director Tony Stevenson said the partnership provided a great opportunity for Mission Australia’s clients.

“I know many of our clients were inspired by meeting the Queensland Reds players and hearing about how they stay positive, keep their focus and rise to the challenges thrown at them while playing sport at an elite level,” Tony said.

“Likewise, I’m sure, after meeting our guys, the Queensland Reds players learned a thing or two about how to overcome adversity and stay focused when life doesn’t go your way.”